Sediments flows in the Great Barrier Reef lagoon as revealed by MERIS satellite data

摘要

The total suspended sediment (TSS) concentrations obtained by the satellite remote sensing instrument MERIS were validated using in situ data acquired during a dry and a wet season in the vicinity of the Herbert River, central Great Barrier Reef region, Australia. The available MERIS imagery for the region covering 16 months in 2003-2004 was then compiled, and derived TSS distributions statistically analysed. The present study demonstrated that river-borne sediments discharged by a typical flood in the Herbert River are mostly precipitated or consumed within the first 20 km from the coast and therefore are unlikely to affect the mid-shelf coral reefs of this section of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.